Nightmares
by daryoo
Summary: During times of long battles and high tensions, it's hard to get a full night of rest without it being interrupted by an active mind. Luckily, the Paladins of Voltron aren't facing their fears alone. There's always someone to keep them company even in the middle of outer space.
1. Chapter 1: Shiro

Shiro could feel needles piercing his skin. His forehead was covered in sweat. He was tied to a metal table, blinded by a white overhead light akin to an interrogation bulb.

The soft hum of machinery filled the back of his mind.

A dark, cloaked figure peeked into Shiro's peripheral vision. He couldn't turn his head or see very well past the light above him, but he knew who his tormentor was without the need to see them.

 _champion_

The all-too familiar voice made his skin crawl.

 _just another puppet_

His breathing was gradually getting faster and faster, but it did nothing to fill his panicked lungs.

 _you're just another one of the Galra's toys_

He started to feel more needles.

 _such a shame that you will be the weapon used to cause your own downfall_

Her voice echoed through his skull and filled it with more painful memories. The taunts fused into an unintelligible blurb of agony as Shiro tried in vain to block them out He could do nothing more than shut his eyes and hope the torture ended sooner than the last time.

But amidst Hagger's wicked laughter and endless taunting, Shiro still managed to hear the uneven hum of the machinery somewhere next to him. It took a while for his racing mind to realize that it wasn't machinery, but in fact a low voice, one foreign to the cold darkness of the Galra ship he was locked in.

He could only catch a few words over his own panting.

"...afraid...temporary...breath….Shiro…"

And suddenly there was a hand rubbing his back but-

"There is nothing…afraid of...only temporary...deep breath for...okay Shiro?"

It didn't make sense. He was tied to a lab table in Hagger's experiment cell in the middle of space with no one to help him or hear his screaming or panicked breathing or-

"There is nothing to be afraid of. This is only temporary. I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay Shiro?"

Something deep in his muddled brain told him to listen, and he started doing as he was told. The mantra was repeated to him over and over again. He was still terrified and shaking, but at least the oxygen had helped him regain enough of his senses to realize that the voice belonged to none other than Hunk.

As soon as Hunk was done going over the mantra again, he started over again with a steady voice, as if on instinct.

Shiro was slowly gaining more awareness of his current condition despite still having his eyes shut tighter than a steel door. He was clutching his hair for dear life with both hands, the robotic one a little tighter than his own. His face was scrunched and wet with tears. Hunk's hand was continuously rubbing his hunched and sweaty back in a circular motion. He also suddenly became aware of the fact that he was sitting down against a wall- _not_ tied down to a lab table.

After a another little eternity of deep breaths, Shiro finally began to open his eyes again. He felt a new wave of fear wash over him again as white, sterile light consumed his vision, but it went away once he realized that it was only the glow of the castle's hallway lights.

"I've got you, buddy" Hunk whispered next to him. "I'm not letting anything hurt you."

Shiro trusted that Hunk would keep his word. It would just take a little longer to convince himself that they were far away from the Galra and not on the verge of an attack.

"I-I-"

 _I'm okay,_ he wanted to say. His mouth wouldn't let him spit the words out. He _wasn't_ okay, but what kind of leader let themselves become paralyzed with fear at the threat of nothing?

Hunk shut him down. "Take it easy, Shiro. Let's just sit this out together."

They sat together with nothing but shaky breaths to break the silence for what seemed like an eternity, but Hunk seemed in no hurry to go anywhere.

"What-what time is it?" Shiro finally managed to ask.

Hunk thought about his response for a few moments before finally deciding to shrug on it. "The whole 'living in space' thing is screwing with my perception of time, but I'd say we have maybe another three hours until our first wakeup call."

 _Three hours left for Hunk to get some more shut eye in,_ Shiro thought to himself. But then why was he here with him at this hour?

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

A subtle blush washed over Hunk's face as he reached over to scratch his neck. It didn't do much to hide the embarrassed wheels turning in his head. "Ah, well, it's just that, you see, I _might_ have been on my way to Yellow's hanger to give her some midnight belly rubs. And maybe sing her some lullabies while I was at it."

He seemed to regret his response upon falling under the confused gaze of his fellow paladin.

"I mean, I guess technically the lions don't really need to _sleep_ per se, but it helps her unwind after a long day," there was a brief pause before adding, "and sometimes I could use the company myself."

Oh. That made sense.

"I was on my way to the hanger when I saw you stumbling out here in the hallway….you didn't seem like you were feeling so good."

Well, if by 'good' he meant in full awareness of his surroundings, then he was on the right track.

"Speaking of which," he continued, "is, uh, everything all right?" He tapped his own forehead with caution, unsure if his genuine concern was overstepping any boundaries. "You could always come over to my room if you ever need someone to help you get through the night."

They say empathy is a gift.

"I appreciate the offer. Thank you, Hunk," he told him. "For everything." Shiro couldn't remember the last time anybody had been so patient with him, especially given his state.

Shiro stopped getting nightmares as a kid once he was old enough to learn that the waking world was full of things much scarier than Boogiemen and ghosts. But after the failed Kerberos mission and the events following it, the word 'nightmare' began to carry a whole new weight. Sometimes the most terrifying things were the ones we thought to be closest to the truth.

"You shouldn't have to see me like this," he told Hunk. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? For being put into this mess without so much as a second to take it all in? For being manipulated and hurt by a scumbag alien race? Shiro, none of this is your fault. Give your team a chance support your weight." A smile lit up the Yellow Paladin's face. "Heck, I'm the _leg of Voltron_. That's basically in my job description."

Given the lengths he had previously gone to keep the Balmera safe, it didn't surprise Shiro that Hunk had such a big heart. The Yellow Lion had chosen its pilot well.

"Alright, I'll be less hard on myself." Inner peace was something Shiro desperately needed. Maybe it was time to put that in the forefront. "I can't thank you enough for being here with me."

"No problem, buddy."

Silence enveloped them again, but it was a new kind of silence. It was a comfortable silence that didn't plead to be broken. The two of them sat there, savoring the brief tranquility they so rarely got to enjoy.

Shiro's heart was a little less heavy the next night.

* * *

 **It's been a while since I've tried my hand at writing fanfiction, so I decided to start fresh and do something for the Voltron fandom. My plan is to write a chapter for each of the paladins (yup, five)**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: Pidge

To say the Paladins' training regime was intense would have been a severe understatement. One close call in battle after another prompted Allura and Coran to increase the difficulty level of the training bots in an effort to keep the team on their toes. The daily sessions left everyone bruised and exhausted, but complaining had gotten old after Allura insisted that Zarkon wouldn't back down just because his opponents were too tired to fight.

"We are the universe's only hope to defeat the Galra. Countless lives are at stake and it is our job to protect them, no matter the odds! If we back down…"

Pidge seemed to be taking the upgrade the worst. As soon as training ended, she would knock out in the strangest of places as soon as the palace met a moment of silence. Her disadvantage in height and brute power meant that she had to act with much more speed and precision than her teammates. It's not that she couldn't keep up-in fact, she often outperformed the rest when it came to executing complex maneuvers. However, that extra energy she needed to put in was taking its toll now that Allura was pushing everyone to their limits. The Green Paladin had already been having trouble sleeping, and her increased need for it wasn't helping at all.

"Pidge?"

Pidge hadn't realized she was dozing off until Allura startled her out of her trance. The princess looked at her with a mix of subtle concern and disappointment.

"Did you even listen to a word I just said?" she asked.

 _crapcrapcrapcrap_

"Why, uh, you just gave us a riveting speech about how we must be resilient even in the most difficult circumstances. Working as a unit is our only chance at defeating the Galra," Pidge guessed, feigning confidence in her response. She felt guilty about zoning out so carelessly, but it wasn't something she could really help at the moment.

"Very well then," Allura said, "but next time, Pidge, I would appreciate it if you at least _tried_ to appear a little more engaged." Despite her frustrated demeanor, Allura decided to call it a day and decided to give the Paladins the rest of the afternoon to themselves. "I expect all of you to be on your toes tomorrow morning for training."

Hunk thought it appropriate to celebrate their temporary freedom by promising a special meal for everyone, thanks to the surprisingly Earth-like vegetation he had found growing on the planet they landed on a few days ago. Lance was practically bouncing off the walls in the prospect of eating anything that wasn't Coran's space goo.

"My Paladin Lunch is still the best meal in the galaxy," Coran muttered as he walked to the kitchen behind Hunk.

Keith and Shiro couldn't say they weren't at least a little bit excited for food as well, but they were looking forward to some alone time more than anything else, really.

As the pack began to file out of the training room, Pidge suddenly felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'd like to exchange a few words with you before you leave, Pidge," Allura said.

 _This is about not paying attention during today's speech, isn't it?_ She had to admit, her ambiguous response was maybe a bit too much of a catch-all.

"Of course," Pidge said, before turning to face Allura.

"Pidge, recently I've been getting the feeling that something's different with the way you're caring for yourself. You're doing superb during training and combat, but the rest of the day you seem distant and about ready to fall apart from exhaustion," she said, each word laced with worry. "Is there anything going on that any of us should know about? Maybe there's something I could do to help you get more rest?"

Allura was much more gentle towards Pidge than when the rest of the Paladins were together a few moment ago. She sounded almost motherly now.

"Would it help if we talked about it?" Allura asked gently.

Before she knew it, Pidge was recounting memories from when her family was still together, before anyone had gotten wrapped up in the Galra's plans for domination. She remembered the first time they went camping, when her mom had tried to teach her how to swim in the lake. The time they went to the Aerospace Museum, where Sam had promised her that he would enroll her in the Garrison one day.

And a particularly sunny weekend morning, only a few months ago, when she held onto a her brother and dad for dear life as tears streamed down her face. If she had known what was to happen to them, she would have held them tighter and never let go. She could still feel her tears falling on his brother's jacket as a sob bubbled out of her.

It wasn't Matt-she was hugging Allura. Pidge opened her eyes and slowly loosened her hold on the princess. Allura pulled out a small handkerchief from within the folds of her dress, for which Pidge was infinitely grateful for. She hesitated before nodding and then taking the handkerchief.

"It's just that I haven't been able to sleep very well lately," Pidge said. "Every time I try to get some rest I can't help but think about my family, and the thoughts just spiral from there."

Allura nodded. She'd had similar nights after being forced to disconnect her father's AI.

"By now my mom probably found out we're gone. She's probably worried sick on Earth wondering if she's lost _another_ family member. And then Dad and Matt, they're-they're out there somewhere and I hate how _powerless_ I am to find them and get them out of that stupid hell ship. I can't fail them but all I can do is think about all the ways I might have already done that without even realizing it."

"But Pidge, you haven't failed them," Allura said. "On the contrary, we're getting closer. Every planet we free and every ship we infiltrate is getting us closer and closer to finally putting this fight to rest. We're going to find them. There's little I can do right now, but believe me when I say that I am willing to do whatever it takes to prevent you from going through the pain I've had to go through."

Allura didn't see the next hug coming. It was much sturdier than the last, now that Pidge was no longer shaking.

"I don't say this enough, but I'm glad to be on your team," Pidge said. "Thanks for taking the time to listen to me."

"Any time. And I mean it. Now let's go see if Hunk is almost done with that meal he promised, shall we?"

* * *

 **I wanted to upload this sooner but Thanksgiving weekend was such a pain! Anyways, at first I was going to write this interaction to be between Pidge and Shiro, but as I was writing it the story had a mind of its own so I reworked it to be between Pidge and Allura.**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3: Lance

Lance was in no way an expert on Altean tech, but he had managed to memorize the necessary motions to locate Earth on the ship's console. It was one of few button configurations he had taken note of the time Coran tried to give everyone a detailed explanation on how to operate the ship in case of an emergency. It had been intended to be more of a "fun fact" when Coran showed them exactly how to pull up Earth's coordinates on the star map, but Lance clutched on to the lesson until he could go back to his room and write it down.

The hologram opened the cosmos as if it were a flower, then quickly zoomed in on a cluster of dots until the Blue Planet was finally in view.

Lance drew in a shaky breath and slowly reached towards it. He dropped his hand after it went right through the pale light simulating Earth; it was just a hologram, after all.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to touch the surface of Earth again. Lance so desperately wanted to go back home. He wanted to run in the grass until his lungs yelled for breath. He wanted to soak in the sun until his skin was as red as Keith's trademark jacket. He wanted to climb the cliffs by his hometown and feel the dirt under his bare feet just before jumping off into the cool, salty ocean down below. But most of all, he wanted to see his family. His heart burned for the chance to squeeze the living daylights out of everyone back home and assure them that yes, _estoy vivo._

Lance wasn't usually homesick- heck, being away from home was one of the conditions for enrollment at the Garrison- but fighting a war in deep space without the guarantee of ever returning in one piece was an unexpected joker card. The uncertainty couldn't compare.

For one, none of the Paladins knew if they _would_ get to go home if they won. Was being a Paladin of Voltron a lifetime commitment? Or would the lions eventually go dormant and break their bonds until they found another pilot? He couldn't recall Allura saying much about the original Paladins, but if the war was still going on 10,000 years later, the likelihood of the former seemed to outweigh any other odds.

And then there was the alternative outcome. The team could only imagine what losing would mean for everybody. Capture would mean torture or death. Escaping and living to tell the tale wouldn't necessarily mean there would be a planet to go back to.

Lance was infamous for sleeping in hours on end on training days. He'd get scolded for it by the team, and sometimes sent to a new hallway of the castle to scrub clean as punishment once training was over, but then everyone would move on and continue the routine they had begun to grow accustomed to.

No one asked why Lance was almost always the last to go to his room at night, or why he was so hell bent on getting Hunk and Coran to give the console routine maintenance at least once a week. Whenever somebody stayed up a little longer outside of their rooms, Lance would stay in the bathroom and pamper himself until they left. No one suspected that afterwards Lance spent hours at a time with nothing but the company of the control room's projections whenever he couldn't sleep- which was usually nightly.

His older brother had warned him about insomnia, caffeine, all nighters, and all the other dangers to sleep he might have to deal with eventually. _Aprovechate del sueño mientras puedas_ , he'd told Lance countless times.

Well, now he was throwing every bit of advice he'd gotten out the window. Lance would rather stay up until his body forced him to sleep than lay idle in bed as his overactive mind made the nights impossible for him. His quick-thinking was a blessing during the day, but a curse at night.

That night Lance had _tried_ to go straight to bed. After his routine facial, he went to his room and closed his eyes, giving in to exhaustion. Thirty minutes later, he woke up shouting for his mother as she was about to get taken by a Galra drone.

So now he was sitting on the cold control room floor, staring wistfully at the holographic map once more.

Tasked as a defender of the universe, and yet he was always afraid that he couldn't protect the ones he cared about the most.

Lance must have been starting to black out a bit sooner than usual, because at first he didn't notice a small shape taking a seat next to him. He was suddenly covered with a green blanket.

"I get the feeling this isn't the first time, huh?"

Lance was fully awake now and staring at Pidge.

"You know, it's okay to be afraid sometimes," she said. "We all are. Everyone just responds to it differently."

Lance remained silent. There was no joke, no sarcastic comment, no witty retort, no negation. The happy-go-lucky goofball who could lighten any situation was M.I.A. until morning. There was no point in trying to conceal his deep worry.

Pidge slowly got up and approached the console. She took an eraser-sized block out of her pocket and placed it on the surface of the Altean device. Buttons were pressed. Then, she sat back down next to Lance.

A few seconds later, the box hummed and drowned the holographic sky in a green light before settling back down.

The usually-pale simulation was now a rainbow of textures and colors that made the stars and planets seem almost as tangible as the ones they'd visited in person. The sudden life that was injected into the miniature universe left Lance wide-eyed and gaping. It was beautiful.

"I was going to use it to upgrade Green's cloaking device, but I could easily make another one later. But for now, I think you'll get more use out of it, won't you?"

A bear hug firm enough to rival Hunk's was the only confirmation she needed.

* * *

"estoy vivo"= I'm alive

"aprovechate del sueño mientras puedas"= take advantage of sleep while you can

 **No dialogue for the most talkative Paladin ;)**

 **Since this takes place during the middle of the night, my excuse for Pidge is that she took Allura's offer and spent a couple hours talking things out with her. She was on her way back to her room when she walked past the control room and saw Lance sitting alone there.**

 **I'll try to update soon despite finals coming up. Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4: Keith

Left. Right. Swing. Dodge.

Left. Right. Swing. Dodge.

The motions were becoming rithmic, quickly eating away the adrenaline Keith felt at the beginning of every match. He'd set the bot to a moderate level, but purposefully programmed it to loop the same attacks. He was too exhausted for a real fight, but he needed a distraction. Training helped him focus.

Keith was a tight bundle of frustration, worry, and guilt ever since the team's failed mission the week prior. It was supposed to be a simple mission- infiltration and extraction. The moment Allura made it known that she had found a secret Galra base a few planets away from Kerberos, Pidge made everyone get into their armor and into their lions, no further questions asked. The found footage of Matt escaping the Galra prison had given her new hope, and she was willing to do anything to find another lead.

Shiro had split the team up to cover as much ground as possible. Lance and Hunk were to monitor the halls for any incoming guards, while Pidge, Shiro, and Keith would work around the base's security. Keith had the bad feeling that three close-combat fighters wouldn't make the best match, but Shiro assured him that it was their best bet at staying hidden.

"With Pidge's hacking skills, your ability to operate Galra tech, and my prosthetic, it will be much easier to get around the base without the risk of exposing ourselves."

And with that, Keith agreed without much further argument. He forced the nagging knot in his stomach down and got ready for the mission.

Left. Right. Swing. Dodge.

Left. Right. Swing. Dodge.

The ten minute timer went off and the bot finally retreated. Keith was about to set up another bot cycle, but his command was interrupted by a voice at the door of the training room.

"Hey Mullethead, Hunk says you've got to come down and eat or else you're going to scare the mice off with your stomach noises."

Oh great, the one person he definitely didn't want to deal with today.

"I'll be down after one more round," he answered flatly.

Lance merely shrugged and came inside. He took off his jacket, went to the corner of the room, activated a panel hidden in the wall, and pulled out a spare sword from the artillery closet. After gingerly testing its weight, Lance closed the panel and approached Keith.

"If you're going to kill time, might as well make it count. You programmed that bot to be way too predictable," he said. He raised his sword as if it were a bat, prompting an eye roll from Keith. "Let's do this."

"Have you even used a sword before?" Keith asked, frustrated.

"Nope, but how different can it from a lightsaber?," Lance said.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Keith swung, and Lance was barely quick enough to get out of the way. A few minutes later, Lance was *kind of* getting the hang of how to use a sword well enough to defend himself from Keith- which wasn't much considering Keith wouldn't actually hurt Lance, as angry as he may have been.

He was surprised at how competent Lance actually was with a sword, considering this was probably his first time fighting with one.

"You're holding back, aren't you? Afraid I'll catch up? Or are you actually this soft in battles?"

Well, that did it. Keith's stubborn pride kicked in and he attacked full force. He wasn't about to let Lance, of all people, doubt him.

Again.

He lunged at Lance with his sword, but Lance dodged his move almost as quickly. Keith turned and bombarded him with a storm of swipes, moving left and right, forcing Lance to gradually retreat. Lance made a desperate swing to try to hit Keith's shoulder with the flat of his sword, but Keith bent down and avoided the hit as soon as he saw the move coming. By the time he came back up, Lance's arm was too far away to make another quick swing and it proved to be his downfall. Keith swung for his legs and knocked him right off his feet, disarming him in the process.

"I can take care of myself," Keith said bitterly, sword pointed at a defeated Lance. "I'd be willing to take on a whole army of Galra single handedly if my life depended on it. If our lives depended on it"

Keith didn't know if it was the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the anger he felt towards Lance at that very moment, or if it was his guilt over their failed mission finally reaching its limit, but he could have sworn his voice had shaken at the end there.

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait. Is this- is this about…" He slowly sat up, pushing Keith's sword away. "You said the exact same thing last week. When we were on that base, right after..."

He finished getting up and came face to face with Keith. He looked into the Red Paladin's eyes as if staring long enough would reveal the words Keith had been keeping locked up.

"Keith. Keith, It's not your fault the Galra took Pidge and Shiro."

"I had the opportunity to get them back and didn't, Lance," Keith retorted. "I could have gone after them and taken those guards down before they took them off the base, but you stopped me. What the hell was that about? Why didn't you let me go after them?"

"Are you nuts? There were dozens of them, not to mention the druids they had as backup. Two guns and a sword wouldn't stand a chance against magic and state-of-the-art Galra tech, and you know that," Lance said. "I wasn't going to let you get yourself captured too, or worse."

"For fuck's sake, I don't care if I get captured. They. Took. Shiro. And. Pidge. what part of that do you not understand? I could have at least tried."

Lance took a deep breath and crossed his arms.

"Dude, you're taking all the blame. Don't do that to yourself. I've been there plenty of times and it's not pretty. We're going to get them back. We just need to figure out how," Lance said.

"Lance, it's been a week. Seven days. Do you have any idea what the Galra could have done to them since they got captured?" Keith had certainly spent the past few nights thinking about it. "I've already lost my family once, and I'm not going to let it happen again. Not when I can do something about it."

"And what exactly do you plan on doing? Waltzing up to the Galra base and challenging each of them to a one-on-one? Storming Red right to the mouth of the beast?" Keith would be willing do that anyways, and Lance knew it. "You're not a lone wolf anymore. You don't have to push yourself to do this on your own."

You're not a lone wolf anymore. But it still felt like it sometimes. The Paladins were his family now, but sometimes he couldn't help but think that maybe he was still the odd one out. The fifth wheel. Well, seventh if you count Coran and Allura.

"All I've ever done is destroy bridges. This team is the last one I have left, and I'm not letting it crumble to pieces." He wasn't at rock bottom yet, but that meant he still had enough to lose for the fall to be painful. "If risking my life for for one of yours' means the rest of the bridge stays in place, then that's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Por Dios, Keith, what is it going to take to reason with you? There's no trading here. Voltron isn't Voltron without all five lions, and the team isn't the team without all five Paladins. We're going to get them back, but it's not going to be any better if we barge in and die to do it. I'm worried, Hunk is worried, Allura and Coran are worried. But we can't let this eat us up from the inside. We just have to be there for each other while we figure something out and set everything back to the way it should be."

It was now obvious to Keith why Blue had opened up to Lance, and Lance only. He was a sorely needed anchor to keep others from floating away and falling apart. The passion in his voice was a slap in the face that finally gave Keith the patience to keep his head on his shoulders.

There was silence.

There was staring at each others' shoes.

When it seemed that it would begin to be unbearable, Keith finally spoke up.

"I'm...I'm sorry about the past few days. I've been distant and angry. Angry at myself, angry about the mission, angry about everything," he said. "I guess I took most of it out on you. Well, more than usual at least."

Lance let out a soft chuckle. "Well, I'm glad we cleared that up. For a second I thought you were mad that I sneak into your room to steal your gloves sometimes."

"Wait, you what?"

Wrong move, Lance. Very wrong move.

Lance realised his half-joke killed the moment more than he intended it to and frantically tried to patch up the holes. "Hey, uh, let's backtrack for a second. Anyways, I think Hunk is still waiting for us to get to dinner so let's get going, shall we?" He was already rushing to the door before Keith could take further action to express his indignation.

Lance could drive anyone nuts in a matter of seconds. But it was still comforting to know that the Blue Paladin wouldn't let Keith be the lone wolf on is watch.

* * *

 **Sorry for making you guys wait so long for the next chapter. My teachers had the not-so-brilliant idea of spreading finals out throughout the month, so I took a break from the web to study for all of them. Anyways, here it is!**

 **Wrote in some nods to season two, but I tried not to be *too* spoilery in case any of you haven't caught up yet**

 **I tried to keep this chapter platonic, but if you so dearly insist, then i guess you can ship your hearts out anyways. ;)**

 **As always, reviews are very much appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5: Hunk

Hunk sat alone with Yellow on her front paw. He was drowsy and clad in full pajamas, but the rubix cube in his hands seemed more important than sleep at the moment.

He'd stored the trivial trinket away in his vest pocket before going up to the roof with Lance on the fateful day they'd found Shiro; he thought the extra weight more of an annoyance than anything after they'd gotten wrapped up in the whole Voltron biz. But as time passed and the team had gradually gotten more and more time to themselves, Hunk was grateful for the toy. He'd make do with anything at hand to fidget, but his tools and parts always had a bit of grease and it was a pain to wash off his hands afterwards.

His heart was still racing a bit. But that was expected. His hands were shaking. Also expected. Shallow breath? Ditto. Tears? Not new.

He'd woken in a panic-again- after having an all-too-possible nightmare. He'd already visited Yellow before settling into bed, but a few more hours wouldn't hurt either of them.

"If only I weren't so sensitive," he told Yellow, frustrated with himself. "As much as it sucks to be out here, it's not like this is a videogame we can shut down when things go downhill."

He heard-no _felt_ \- Yellow purr. The warmth she sent him reminded Hunk of his Nana's bear hugs. Maybe that was intentional.

The colors on his rubix cube were finally aligned. He closed his eyes, took a couple deep breaths, and scrambled the colors once more.

"Maybe I'm the weak link around here. The others sure seem to treat me like that sometimes. We're a leg, Yellow. We carry weight and kick things

A hurt purr. _Sorry, girl. Didn't mean to offend you,_ he thought back.

"Look at it this way: it's not like I bring much to the table. The rest of the team is worth like, ten of me. I'm an engineer, sure, but i bet Pidge alone is twice as smart as me, probably even more."

He heard his lion's machinery hum impatiently underneath him. She was confused, confused as to how her Paladin could think so poorly of himself.

He kept talking.

"Everyone else has a giant red target on their backs that I might as well block. The Galra have seen us fight together with and without Voltron enough to have a priority list. Shiro has the Black Lion, which used to be Sendak's. Keith has the Red Lion, which used to be in _their_ custody, _and_ he's part Galra. They've caught Pidge hacking into their tech plenty of times. Lance is the whole reason we're in this mess, and they're bound to be curious as to why when they put the pieces together. I've got the least things on my plate, so I'm better off keeping the others from danger."

And it's not like they'd _actually_ put the galaxy in his hands, would they?

Yellow was growing more impatient. Hunk felt a slight nudge in his mind, like someone knocking on a mental door. He'd felt that before, during their bonding exercises.

Hunk opened the door and let her in.

 _Everything was hazy, as most dreams are._

 _For some reason Hunk was standing in front of a druid in a Galra ship. He had something in his hands. A box? An orb? He couldn't tell. It was cold and glowing, and the druid's eyes were intent on it._

" _Give it to me, Yellow Paladin, or watch your friends' demise," she said._

 _Hunk turned around. His friends were tied and gagged, held at gunpoint by a group of Galra huddled around them._

No _._

" _Let them go, witch!"_

" _Not unless you hand it over," she said. "It's either the galaxy or your friends." She was playing with him. The druid could have easily taken it by force and was trying to make a point. Hunk was like a science experiment she wanted to test out. "Make your choice."_

 _Hunk could hear his teammates shouting at him, begging him not to hand the mysterious artifact over._

 _He cared about his friends more than anything- protecting others was at his core. Keeping it meant he'd be responsible for his new family's sacrifice. But handing it over meant he'd be responsible for the deaths of millions._

 _Why was the druid so intent on letting him choose_ something _, when the choice was so hard? Was this its own special kind of torture?_

Hunk let out a sigh, twisting the last row of blocks into place. He was definitely calmer, but keeping his hands and mind busy wouldn't completely untangle the knot in the pit of his stomach. Once a seed was planted, he'd latch on to it until it spiralled out of control.

He set the cube down on his lap and set his now-empty hands on Yellow's paw. He let himself relax a little and opened a mental window.

In poured enough warm energy to rival a summer sun's. It was as if Yellow knew exactly what her Paladin needed for comfort; he was swimming in a lake of happy thoughts.

He'd gotten into Galaxy Garrison. He'd fought tooth and nail to get to Yellow's hiding place and bond with her. Shay would still be waiting for him when they ended the war. Six people and a giant robot lion had his back, no matter what. He'd helped save entire _planets_ and was still going strong. He was _an entire_ _frickin_ _leg_. He did matter. He'd always mattered.

"Can't believe I ever thought otherwise."

* * *

 **"Nightmares" is finally done guys! Had a lot of fun writing this, especially after having spent so long without writing fanfics. I have another idea for a fic in mind, but I'm going to try to write it out _before_ I start posting so my hectic schedule doesn't leave you in the dark again.**

 **Anyways, I'm a fan of the headcanon that Hunk suffers from anxiety disorder, so I figured he'd find his own ways to deal with it in space. The rubix cube is something I use when _I'm_ anxious so I thought it would be neat to write that in for one of my favorite characters.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading!**


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